The beautiful building of Antalya archaeological museum is in the park area of the local embankment, where the steep stone coast goes into a gentle beach. There you can see very interesting artifacts discovered during the excavations in the environs of the city.
The museum with 13 spacious halls was opened in this place in 1972. At the museum you can see exhibits ranging from various implements of primitive people to household items of XIX century. However, of most interest are the finds dating to ancient times: sculptures, sarcophagi, pottery, weapons, etc.
Many discoveries were made on the sites of the ancient Greek colonies of the Mycenaean and Athenian civilizations, but the most interesting finds were brought there from the excavations of the ancient city of Perge (10 km north-east of Antalya). A great number of ancient Roman sculptures of I-II centuries were found during the excavations of Perge. All of them are on display in the «Hall of Emperors».
The Mosaic Hall, the Burial or Sarcophagi Hall and the Ethnographic Hall are at least as interesting. In one of the museum halls you can see the Byzantine icons from Demre. Nicholas the Wonderworker was a rector of a temple in this ancient town.
